1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally directed to laundry and dry cleaning services and more specifically to a method of remotely and mobilely receiving articles to be laundered/cleaned or serviced with the capability of remote on-site weighing and invoice generation on the delivery vehicle itself and delivering the laundeered and dry-cleaned articles back to the customer for pick-up.
2. Description of Related Art
Household duties have always been the focus of a variety of devices which reduce both the amount of time spent and effort expended to complete a particular household chore. Among other household duties which have to be performed on a routine basis such as cooking and cleaning, laundering today presents one of the most time intensive, troublesome, and physically demanding duties. Although laundry machines, including washing and drying machines, have been developed to reduce the effort expended and ease the chore of laundering, the task itself is still a burden. And, in any event, not everyone owns or has easy access to a machine (nor the time) to use one. As society struggles to increase its productivity, disposable time becomes more sparse and increasingly valuable.
Those who regularly do laundry within their own homes understand that even with laundry machines, washing clothes is a lengthy and time consuming process. Foremost, dirty clothes, sheets, towels, and the like, must be collected from various locations in a particular home or business and then stored in a central location for an indefinite period of time. After one decides that the articles are to be washed, they must be sorted according to a number of variables such as the type of garment, the color of the article, the particular fabric, etc. with attention given to the manufacturers' directions for washing (which is commonly described on a tag attached to the article). For example, some articles require a gentle warm cycle whereas others require a cold water cycle. Even if the articles are carefully sorted, it is not unusual for articles to become intermixed incorrectly, which can lead to unpleasant changes in color, size, and/or wrinkle-ness for one, a few, or even all the contents of a particular laundry load. The attentiveness and knowledge of the person, the washer, loading the washing machine, is critical when sorting the articles to be washed as a small mistake can permanently ruin some garments.
After the articles have been sorted, the type of detergent, softener, and/or bleach must be selected and applied. These additives must be carefully used in varying amounts, at different times throughout the washing process, based on the articles within the washing machine and the washer's intended purpose (such as bleaching). Thus, the washer (the individual) may spend much of his or her time, throughout the wash cycle, attending to the washing machine to apply, for example, the fabric softener after a particular segment of the wash cycle is complete. When the washing machine completes the entire cycle, the individual has to remove all of the clothing in preparation for the drying process. This, too, can be a dreaded task as the articles are now much heavier because they are wet. Like before, the articles are sorted based on factors such as fabric, to begin the drying process. Some articles can be placed in a drying machine whereas others must be hung out or in to dry. Even those which can be dried by machine may have to be sorted by the type of heat they can endure. For example, fabrics such as linen may require a “tumble dry” cycle as opposed to cotton fabrics which are usually dried on a “high heat” cycle. Again, a simple mistake in sorting can leave the individual, for example, with a shirt that is many sizes too small. After drying is completed, the articles must then be folded and returned to closets, drawers, and the like.
As described, laundering is an exhaustive, sometimes difficult, not terribly rewarding task and requires a large time frame for its completion. It is frequently considered drudgery. Even with time, however, mistakes can be made. Thus, for those who do not have laundry (and/or drying) machines, prefer not to wash garments by hand, or simply prefer not to expend the time to do their own laundry, they turn to third-party laundry and dry-cleaning service providers. Laundry service and dry-cleaning service providers have become commonplace in society and continue to experience a tremendous rate of growth. Due to a variety of reasons, as alluded to above, individuals, organizations, and larger corporations outsource their garments to third-party professional clothes washers and cleaners. Outsourcing laundry is convenient, saves the individual or group time and sometimes money, and can be the only option for those who do not own a washer or clothes dryer. Moreover, professional launderers and cleaners are experienced in handling a wide range of garments and fabrics, which is critical when dealing with more natural and the wide variety of fibers such as wools, cottons, linens, silks and blends of the same now available.
Those with large loads of laundry and many articles of dry cleaning, such as fitness centers or hotel properties, may choose to have a laundry service provider handle all of their articles. These providers can even arrange for the laundry and/or dry cleaning to be picked up and re-delivered directly to the individual client after servicing (laundry and/or dry cleaning). This way, the client does not have to physically package and transport the articles to the provider and to subsequently pick up the articles from the provider. It is a convenience to everyone from individuals to small businesses to corporations. For persons with busy lifestyles, pickup of soiled articles of laundry and delivery of services, i.e., washed and/or dry-cleaned articles or laundry, at the location where the soiled laundry was “created,” is ideal and has become commonplace in larger metropolitan cities and suburban areas.
Although third-party laundry and dry cleaning providers eliminate some of the hassle involved with laundry, through personalized pickup and delivery, the client and provider of the laundry and cleaning services still must arrange for a precise appointment time. Thus, in advance, the client and laundry provider mutually agree on a pickup and/or delivery time (since money is often involved) which forces both parties to meet at that precise time, usually at the client's home or business. This can be an inconvenience to both parties if one or both parties is unable to meet at that particular time because of on an unforeseen event, such as traffic on the highways. With pickup and delivery, if one party fails to make it to the appointment on time before the other leaves, the transaction does not occur. Soiled laundry may not be given or clean laundry dropped off. Payment may not occur. Yet, this is not the only problem with personalized pickup and delivery of laundry and dry cleaning.
With conventional laundry service providers that pickup and deliver, an invoice is not prepared for the client at the time the client gives the delivery personnel the articles to be serviced. Rather, in this type of situation, the invoice is generated at a later time and provided to the client upon delivery of the articles. The invoice commonly lists information such as the date of the transaction, the client's name and address, and also, the detailed contents for the laundry and/or dry cleaning. For example, the invoice may include the weight of the laundry in pounds and ounces, the number of garments for dry cleaning, any special services such as stain removal, and the like. At the end of the invoice, a cost is then provided for the laundry services and dry cleaning. Thus, the client does not know precisely how much everything will cost when he or she hands the soiled items to the delivery personnel. This is because the service provider, who physically picks up the delivery, does not usually count the items, and, to the inventors' knowledge, does not possess a weighing machine on his person or in the truck, and also lacks any type of invoice printer or generator. Instead, the laundry provider picks up the articles, transports the articles to the laundry and/or dry cleaning site, where it is weighed and counted, and then the articles are identified, specific instructions recorded, and an invoice generated. The launderer performs the cleaning service and returns the serviced laundry to the client and presents an invoice for payment. Typically, the client does not learn of the precise charges until the delivery of the laundered articles, well after the laundry is first picked up and after the services have been performed—which can easily lead to an unpleasant situation if the charges are unexpected. In addition, by asking for payment upon delivery of washed laundry, the client may be unprepared for rendering the payment as he or she does not know how much the services cost until that point; as a consequence, this can be time consuming for both the delivery personnel and client as the client searches for his or her cash, checkbook, credit card, or the like.
There is a need for the pickup of soiled laundry and dry cleaning and delivery of laundered or cleaned clothing service which gives both the client and laundry provider flexibility in choosing a pickup and delivery time, and provides the client, upon dropping off the articles to be serviced, an invoice detailing the number of soiled items, their weight (where appropriate) at the time the soiled laundry is given to the delivery vehicle personnel, and the anticipated cost of the entire transaction.